GM is a great company for developing employees and leaders. It is a very well run company and thus provides a great learning ground. Most leaders are very ethical and want to do the right thing.

Cons

General Mills is quirky culture, being based in Minneapolis. It is a classic example of what is called locally, "Minnesota Nice." It is a culture of conflict avoidance, non-candor and overly dependent on relationships to get things done.

Advice to Management

I would love to see General Mills become a more candid culture. One of the biggest misses with the acquisition of Pillsbury was an unwillingness to confront a bad senior leader. Who knows how many hundreds of millions of dollars that ended up costing General Mills and its shareholders.

Current Employee - Associate Marketing Manager in Toronto, ON (Canada)

Current Employee - Associate Marketing Manager in Toronto, ON (Canada)

Approves of CEO

Pros

"The Mills" is a great place to learn and after 2 years I feel that I can look back feel good about what I have accomplished. Many of these accomplishments were the result of some very strong managers whom were comfortable to let me lead a conversation and grow from experience.

Cons

The downside to General Mills is that the Work / Life balance is not what they say it is during the interview process. Putting in 10-12 hrs days, and booking meetings at 6 & 7pm at night are not uncommon. A culture sadly has developed over time where you are rewarded for how long you can stay at the office, and not always how efficient you can become.

Equally, the innovation aspect which the company is currently driving towards is also misguided. If you were to ask anyone in the company today, "Is General Mills innovative?", the honest answer would be: "No, but we are great fast followers". While the company is taking great steps to become innovative and bringing in the right people to present on the idea, in the end there are still the same roadblocks and hurdles that have stalled many a great idea in the past.